Men's Soccer Weekly Report - No. 7

NAIA Match of the Week(RV) Central Methodist (Mo.) (7-2-1) at No. 15 Benedictine (Kan.) (7-1-2)Saturday, Oct. 6, Atchison, Kan., 7:30 p.m. CDT, BC Soccer Complex• No. 15 Benedictine (Kan.) welcomes the Eagles of Central Methodist (Mo.), who is receiving votes in the latest Coaches' Poll. The Saturday match serves as Senior Night for the Ravens.• Benedictine has owned the Eagles lately, with a nine-game winning streak in the series. During this streak, the Ravens have out-scored the team from Fayette, Mo., by a 22-6 score. The last series win for Central Methodist came on Sept. 20, 2003, 1-0, in Atchison, Kan.• Both clubs look to keep up the early pace in the Heart of America Athletic Conference standings. There are two other teams tied with Benedictine and Central Methodist at No. 1 with a 1-0 record, No. 7 MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) and Graceland (Iowa).• Riding a five-match winning streak and a nine-match unbeaten streak overall, the Ravens have owned a 23-2 scoring advantage since falling in their season opener back on Aug. 24. Their latest victim was Culver-Stockton (Mo.) on Sept. 29 in a 4-0 shutout.• With a 4-2 road record this year, the Eagles are in the midst of a six-match road trip. The game on Saturday marks the fifth one in that stretch.• Benedictine is 3-1-2 thus far at its home pitch. The only loss came in the season-opener at the hands of Jamestown (N.D.), who is currently 10-1 on the year.• The Ravens have displayed a tough defense this year, ranking second in the NAIA in total shutouts (7). Goalkeeper Taylor Vinnage is sixth in goals against average (0.530). Offensively, Joe Sbarro is tops on the team in goals (9) and points (18). Kenneth Clarizio is the team leader with five assists.• Central Methodist is coming off a 2-1 road win at Baker (Kan.) on Sept. 30. Baker was ranked No. 2 in the Preseason Top 25. Three players have at least three goals, led by the five off the foot of Guilherme Frota. German Schact is the team's main goalkeeper with a 5-0-1 record with 17 saves and a 0.830 goals against average.

This Week Around the Top 25• The week of Oct. 1 - 7 featured two Top 25 matchups, including:o Wednesday - No. 23 Mobile (Ala.) def. No. 3 Auburn Montgomery (Ala.), 6-2o Wednesday - No. 9 Southern Poly (Ga.) def. No. 17 Southern Wesleyan (S.C.), 2-1• Through Wednesday games, the Top 25 is 11-2-0 this week. Both of the Top 25 losses came against another ranked opponent.• No. 23 Mobile (Ala.) scored its biggest win of the season, a 6-2 triumph over No. 3 Auburn Montgomery (Ala.) on Wednesday. The Rams put in four goals in the final 24 minutes of regulation to snap a 2-2 tie. Stephen Okai and Naissim Ayadi each had a pair of goals for Mobile.• On Wednesday, No. 9 Southern Poly (Ga.) rebounded from a loss on Sept. 28 and took down No. 17 Southern Wesleyan (S.C.), 2-1. The Hornets held Southern Wesleyan scoreless until the 88th minute. The Warrior loss comes after they earned a Top 25 ranking for the first time, since dating back to 2000.• There are six programs in NAIA men's soccer still undefeated, five of which are ranked in the Top 25. Huston-Tillotson (Texas) (4-0-3) is the only team not ranked. The Rams take on St. Thomas - Houston (Texas) on Thursday before traveling to Wiley (Texas) on Saturday. Since 2010, Huston-Tillotson is 22-3-4 overall.• No. 4 Belhaven (Miss.) is the owner of the longest active win streak in men's soccer with 11-straight victories. The Blazers host Faulkner (Ala.) on Thursday before visiting Spring Hill (Ala.) on Saturday.• Looking back at last week's Top 25 matchup results:o Sept. 28 - No. 4 Belhaven (Miss.) def. No. 7 Southern Poly (Ga.), 1-0o Sept. 29 (Game of the Week) - No. 2 Rio Grande (Ohio) def No. 1 Lindsey Wilson (Ky.), 3-2o Sept. 29 - No. 6 Concordia (Calif.) def. No. 17 Biola (Calif.), 2-1o Sept. 29 - No. 9 MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) def No. 13 Missouri Valley, 1-0o Sept. 29 - No. 16 Ashford (Iowa) def No. 19 Hannibal-LaGrange (Mo.), 4-0• The first official NAIA Men's Soccer Modified Ratings Percentage Index (MRPI) was released on Sept. 26, with Auburn Montgomery (Ala.) earning its first-ever No. 1 MRPI ranking. Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) was second, followed by No. 3 Concordia (Calif.), No. 4 Belhaven (Miss.) and No. 5 Rio Grande (Ohio). The next MRPI will be released on Oct. 24.• For the current, NAIA Men's Soccer Coaches' Top 25 Poll, click here.

For the Record*• Through Oct. 3 games, West Virginia Tech leads the NAIA with 12 wins - the Golden Bears are 12-1-0 on the year. Belhaven (Miss.) is right behind with 11 wins. The Blazers also boast the fact that they are the only team with zero losses and ties.• Belhaven owns the NAIA's longest active win streak at 11 games. After its big win over then-No. 1-ranked Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) on Sept. 29, Rio Grande (Ohio) is right behind Belhaven with a nine-game win streak.• Lindsey Wilson saw its 33-game overall win streak end against Rio Grande. That mark goes down as the second-longest all-time NAIA span in men's soccer. Hastings (Neb.) holds the record with a 39-gamer, which occurred from 2010-11. • Six programs hold an undefeated record. Last week, three teams - Lindsey Wilson, Jamestown (N.D.) and Mid-America Christian (Okla.) - each dropped their first match of 2012.• Six programs have hit the 10-win threshold thus far.• Six clubs are searching for win No. 1 on the season. Between Sept. 27 - Oct. 3, four teams notched their first victory of the year.• Three new institutions have kicked-off their inaugural seasons in the NAIA: Georgia Gwinnett, Lindenwood-Belleville (Ill.) and St. Andrews (N.C.). Georgia Gwinnett (7-1-1) was the first of the trio to complete a contest as the Grizzlies posted a 12-0 shutout against Tennessee Temple on Aug. 25. The Lynx dropped their first contest, 1-0, against NCAA Division III member Webster (Mo.) on Sept. 1 - Lindenwood-Belleville is 5-4-0 thus far. In its first game on Aug. 28, St. Andrews (3-6-0) lost 7-2 at Milligan (Tenn.).• Judson (Ill.) head coach Steve Burke became the 11th coach in men's college soccer history (NCAA or NAIA) to reach the 500-win milestone. He hit the mark on Sept. 1 in the 2-1 victory over Taylor (Ind.). He boasts the most wins among NAIA men's soccer coaches with a 501-156-39 record in 29 seasons (through games played on Oct. 3). The native of Plattsburgh, N.Y., is trying to reach his 28th-straight season of holding a winning record.• Joel Veal of Aquinas (Mich.) picked up his 200th career coaching win on Aug. 28 against Ohio Midwestern. He stands 17th on the active NAIA wins chart.• Since 2009 (through games played on Sept. 26), Hastings has won more contests than any other NAIA program - 72. During its current 85-match stretch, the Broncos have lost only 10 contests and tied three others for a 72-10-3 mark. Rio Grande and Lindsey Wilson are tied for second in wins since 2009 with 69, followed by Science & Arts (Okla.) with 60 and Grand View (Iowa) with 55 wins.• Since 2005, there have been nine instances of a team recording a 20-match winning streak or better. In those examples, seven teams have put their name on that list.*According to DakStats and team submission of statistics.

National Statistics*• Oklahoma Wesleyan leads the nation in goals scored with 49 (in 11 matches). The Eagles are second in goals scored per game (4.45), behind the 5.0 average of William Carey (Miss.). Hannibal-LaGrange (Mo.) posted a season-high 16 goals against Eureka (Ill.) on Sept. 8.• James Anderson of Brescia (Ky.) holds the goal lead on the year with 21 in eight matches (2.63 average). He eclipsed the four-goal total in three of his matches, with a season-high of seven against Kentucky Christian (Sept. 5). Overall, 22 individuals have found the back of the net at least 10 times.• The season-high assists total of 13 is held by Brescia's Alex Degg. He has recorded four multi-assist games thus far. There are 27 players to post at least seven assists on the year.• Bryan Byars of Science & Arts (Okla.) leads the NAIA in goals against average (0.19). He has played in 10 matches with two goals allowed and eight shutouts to his credit.• Senior Richard Isberner of Rio Grande (Ohio) is the nation's leading goal returner from 2011. He was second on the goal charts last year with 29. He will try to add to his three-year career totals of 66 goals, 47 assists and 179 points (stats heading into 2012). He has a shot at the cracking the NAIA top 10 career charts for goals (101) and points (231). Through eight matches played this year (he has been sidelined with leg injuries in two others), Isberner has 12 goals and three assists (27 points).• For a complete look at the NAIA statistical leaders, click here.*According to DakStats and team submission of statistics.

Looking Ahead• The 54th annual national championship will take place at a different venue - Montgomery, Ala. This is the third-straight year in the state of Alabama with the 2010-11 events being held in Orange Beach, Ala. The 2012 championship will be contested from Nov. 26 - Dec. 1 at the Emory Folmar YMCA Soccer Complex.